Verizon

Many wireless providers in the U.S. require customers to sign a two-year service agreement when purchasing a new smartphone, though some still allow subscribers to upgrade to a new device with a full subsidy once every 20 months. This may soon become a thing of the past, however. Verizon (VZ) on Friday announced that it will no longer be offering early upgrades to its customers. The carrier will allow subscribers who are set to receive an upgrade prior to September 1st, meaning their contract was going to expire on or before January 1st, 2014, to upgrade early. Customers who won’t be eligible for an upgrade until after September 1st will have to wait until the end of their 24-month agreements to buy a new smartphone, unless they wish to do so at full retail price. Verizon has also announced that it will remove all unused credits from its retired New Every 2 program on April 15th.

The chief executive of Verizon (VZ) revealed on Wednesday that video streaming accounts for 50% of the carrier’s network traffic, FierceWireless reported. Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters, CEO Lowell McAdam noted that the company’s investment in its high-speed LTE network has benefited its customers and made high-quality streaming video possible. The executive said that with 3G you could only watch small video clips that would require tons of buffering, however with 4G LTE there are endless possibilities. Verizon believes streaming video will continue to be popular with its customers and estimates that by 2017 it could make up two-thirds on all traffic over its network. The CEO previously revealed that 23% of its wireless subscribers were using LTE smartphones as of January. McAdam also noted that Apple added LTE capabilities to the iPhone 5 only after he met with Steve Jobs and sold him on the benefits of the new high-speed technology.